Food Waste in Singapore – A Ticking Time Bomb

To many, Singapore is often known as a food paradise. As a melting pot of many different cultures, Singapore offers a wide variety of delectable foods from eateries such as hawker centres to award-winning Michelin-star restaurants. Although the food industry in Singapore appears to be exemplary, there is a general consensus among the masses that food waste management could be improved upon.

According to the National Environmental Agency, Singapore generated approximately 763,100 tonnes of food waste just last year. Experts expect the amount of food waste produced to continue rising due to the increasing population and economic affairs. This is worrying for the country as the inefficient management of food waste presents both social and economic problems.

Despite the challenges in managing food waste, companies in the hospitality industry can also treat this as an excellent opportunity to develop a new competitive edge and promote themselves as a socially responsible company. What’s more, minimizing food waste can also help to improve a company’s bottom line by reducing the costs of disposal and the costs of procuring unnecessary food items.

Perhaps, harnessing the power of technology is one way to achieve the above. At Good For Food, data analytics and artificial intelligence is utilized to track the amount of food waste produced by commercial kitchens. With the insights generated from granular data collected, managers would become more adept at balancing the fine line between the supply and demand of food. As a result, companies benefit by fulfilling their corporate social responsibility and reducing both food waste and operational costs.

Ultimately, inefficient management of food waste remains an issue that concerns multiple stakeholders. To uphold Singapore’s reputation as a food paradise, we need businesses, governments and consumers to all play their part in making it sustainable. Our only landfill, Pulau Semakau is expected to be fully filled by 2035 and if we do not act now, there will come a time where the implications of waste are irreversible. The inefficient management of food waste is a ticking time bomb and the countdown has already begun. Will you take active steps to defuse this bomb by reducing your food waste?